These past few months.......
Welcome to our crazy life!
Our life continues to stay on fast forward. We are now settled at home. But there are a few reasons that this blog has gone un-touched for a month or two. I will sum it up for you as "quick" as I can. Pictures will come later. :O)
A few days after super bowl, we got a phone call from San Diego. Grandma Sue was in renal failure and in the care of Hospice. We drove down the next day to be with her. After a week she came out of renal failure! She was transferred from the hospital to a convalescent home. Her health is still deteriorating. And she is not the same Grandma Sue. But, I am still grateful for any time we get to spend with her.
After making sure that Grandma Sue was in good hands, we decided to head back home and on the way, make a stop in Arizona to visit with Grandpa Dennis(Dan's step dad) and Grandma Liz(Dan's Mom). Dennis had a chocolate lab who had Christmas puppies. All 8 puppies were black males! Dennis and Liz decided to give Benjamin an early birthday present. A sweet 8 week old black AKC male lab. Ben is LOVING his birthday present! While in Arizona, we were also able to see Uncle Gary and Uncle Pete, Aunt Judy, Grandpa Ken, and Josh.
After spending a wonderful and relaxing week in Arizona, we started the drive back home. After a few hours into the road trip, someone dropped a rock off an overpass and cracked our sun roof! We stopped at a gas station, and bought some duck tape. As Dan and I were taping the sun roof with duck tape, Benjamin started to throw up. After getting him out of the car, he continued to throw up all over the gas station parking lot. ........I wish I was kidding........we think he had some bad soy milk and banana bread from Starbucks. But who knows?.......So back on the road we go......... By the way, through out this whole trip, Wrigley the puppy did not go potty in his crate once. And slept the whole time! He is an amazing road trip dog. That's how we know he is meant to be our dog. :)
We returned home and collapsed at 2 am. We were exhausted. And just looking at the pile of laundry made me even more tired. I was just ready for our own bed and shower. And any food but fast food! EDIT: Forgot to put this - While at home, Ben received his first stitches. He cut his finger down to the bone on the dog crate. 5 stitches later and he is okay.
Two days later we received a phone call. It was Dan's Mom telling us that Dennis(Dan's step dad) had suddenly passed away of a massive heart attack. No warning signs. We were shocked and devastated. We had just spent a week with Liz and Dennis days ago. Dennis cooked delicious homemade meals for us. Dennis had given me his famous shrimp scampi recipe. Dan and Dennis talked about military days. Dennis gave Ben one of his old helicopters he had made himself. We had a wonderful visit for a week. We were heart broken that Dennis was taken so quickly. But, grateful that we were able to spend so much time with him before he passed away.
So not home more than 72 hours, we packed up our clothes and puppy, and drove 18 1/2 hours to Arizona. We had hit a nasty patch of snow and blizzard weather. So to be on the safe side, we stopped and spent the night at a hotel in St George. That night while checking in we met a Rugby team in town from Tonga. Those kids were high school age and easily the size of Shaquile O'Neal. A thought occurred to me as I looked from our boys to the Tongan Rugby team, "That could be Ben or Zach in a few years". :0)
The next day we were on the road to Arizona. For the most part, the drive went pretty smooth. Besides, Ben throwing up AGAIN. (Wish I was kidding)We had to pull over in a town outside of Laughlin. Possibly the worst area outside of Laughlin. Ben started throwing up. All over everything! We pulled him out of the car and on to a sidewalk in the middle of the ghetto. (Railroad tracks/gang grafitti. I felt like I was on a movie set.) Ben was okay though. We think he had some bad fast food again or car sickness. The bummer, was that as we pulled him out, his portable dvd player dropped out of the car and broke. So that made the rest of the trip louder. But we were okay.
We spent 2 weeks in Arizona with Liz. Aunt Stacy, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Heidi all came out also. We were grateful to be able to be with Liz at that hard time. Dennis was a retired Army veteran. His memorial had a 21 gun salute and taps were played in his honor. His family drove out from Texas and Arkansas. It was special to be able to talk with them and learn more about Dennis's childhood. It brought back memories of my Papa Jr's memorial.
The second week in Arizona was more about making sure Liz was taken care of before we left. We also visited the tourist town of Bisbee. It was so nice to walk around the shops, antique stores, and taste the homemade honey. That week we also celebrated Benjamin's 4th birthday with a dinosaur party. We also surprised Liz with an early 50th birthday party.
So after a few weeks in Arizona, we headed back home. We stopped and enjoyed a beautiful view of the north side of the Grand Canyon. We bought some pottery on a Navajo Indian reservation. On the final night drive, I almost hit a deer on a back road! But, we made it safely home......without any throwing up! (We gave Ben Dramamine to help with car motion sickness. And it worked!)
We are now home. I am catching up on my homework. We have just about caught up on laundry. Wrigley is thriving in his puppy training classes. We traded in our 130,000 mile/cracked sun roof Buick SUV for a gas friendly Dodge Journey. Dan had a birthday and turned 28! I have a few upcoming Dr's appts. (I will update when I have any news.)We are still waiting for a school date or PCS orders for Dan from the Army. We have started to put pictures on our walls. And finally decorate our new home. We are also making healthy changes to improve our bodies.
In the mean time we are enjoying life. We have been reflecting on our faith in jesus christ. And we know that the knowledge we have of eternal families, helps us to know that we will see Dennis, Papa Jr, Grandma Bishop, Nana, and all our family again one day. Losing a loved one so quickly has helped our faith grow stronger. Our rough times humble us and remind us how blessed we are. We are so grateful for friends and family who love us so much.
- A big kuddos if you read this whole thing! - Pictures to come soon. -
Our life continues to stay on fast forward. We are now settled at home. But there are a few reasons that this blog has gone un-touched for a month or two. I will sum it up for you as "quick" as I can. Pictures will come later. :O)
A few days after super bowl, we got a phone call from San Diego. Grandma Sue was in renal failure and in the care of Hospice. We drove down the next day to be with her. After a week she came out of renal failure! She was transferred from the hospital to a convalescent home. Her health is still deteriorating. And she is not the same Grandma Sue. But, I am still grateful for any time we get to spend with her.
After making sure that Grandma Sue was in good hands, we decided to head back home and on the way, make a stop in Arizona to visit with Grandpa Dennis(Dan's step dad) and Grandma Liz(Dan's Mom). Dennis had a chocolate lab who had Christmas puppies. All 8 puppies were black males! Dennis and Liz decided to give Benjamin an early birthday present. A sweet 8 week old black AKC male lab. Ben is LOVING his birthday present! While in Arizona, we were also able to see Uncle Gary and Uncle Pete, Aunt Judy, Grandpa Ken, and Josh.
After spending a wonderful and relaxing week in Arizona, we started the drive back home. After a few hours into the road trip, someone dropped a rock off an overpass and cracked our sun roof! We stopped at a gas station, and bought some duck tape. As Dan and I were taping the sun roof with duck tape, Benjamin started to throw up. After getting him out of the car, he continued to throw up all over the gas station parking lot. ........I wish I was kidding........we think he had some bad soy milk and banana bread from Starbucks. But who knows?.......So back on the road we go......... By the way, through out this whole trip, Wrigley the puppy did not go potty in his crate once. And slept the whole time! He is an amazing road trip dog. That's how we know he is meant to be our dog. :)
We returned home and collapsed at 2 am. We were exhausted. And just looking at the pile of laundry made me even more tired. I was just ready for our own bed and shower. And any food but fast food! EDIT: Forgot to put this - While at home, Ben received his first stitches. He cut his finger down to the bone on the dog crate. 5 stitches later and he is okay.
Two days later we received a phone call. It was Dan's Mom telling us that Dennis(Dan's step dad) had suddenly passed away of a massive heart attack. No warning signs. We were shocked and devastated. We had just spent a week with Liz and Dennis days ago. Dennis cooked delicious homemade meals for us. Dennis had given me his famous shrimp scampi recipe. Dan and Dennis talked about military days. Dennis gave Ben one of his old helicopters he had made himself. We had a wonderful visit for a week. We were heart broken that Dennis was taken so quickly. But, grateful that we were able to spend so much time with him before he passed away.
So not home more than 72 hours, we packed up our clothes and puppy, and drove 18 1/2 hours to Arizona. We had hit a nasty patch of snow and blizzard weather. So to be on the safe side, we stopped and spent the night at a hotel in St George. That night while checking in we met a Rugby team in town from Tonga. Those kids were high school age and easily the size of Shaquile O'Neal. A thought occurred to me as I looked from our boys to the Tongan Rugby team, "That could be Ben or Zach in a few years". :0)
The next day we were on the road to Arizona. For the most part, the drive went pretty smooth. Besides, Ben throwing up AGAIN. (Wish I was kidding)We had to pull over in a town outside of Laughlin. Possibly the worst area outside of Laughlin. Ben started throwing up. All over everything! We pulled him out of the car and on to a sidewalk in the middle of the ghetto. (Railroad tracks/gang grafitti. I felt like I was on a movie set.) Ben was okay though. We think he had some bad fast food again or car sickness. The bummer, was that as we pulled him out, his portable dvd player dropped out of the car and broke. So that made the rest of the trip louder. But we were okay.
We spent 2 weeks in Arizona with Liz. Aunt Stacy, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Heidi all came out also. We were grateful to be able to be with Liz at that hard time. Dennis was a retired Army veteran. His memorial had a 21 gun salute and taps were played in his honor. His family drove out from Texas and Arkansas. It was special to be able to talk with them and learn more about Dennis's childhood. It brought back memories of my Papa Jr's memorial.
The second week in Arizona was more about making sure Liz was taken care of before we left. We also visited the tourist town of Bisbee. It was so nice to walk around the shops, antique stores, and taste the homemade honey. That week we also celebrated Benjamin's 4th birthday with a dinosaur party. We also surprised Liz with an early 50th birthday party.
So after a few weeks in Arizona, we headed back home. We stopped and enjoyed a beautiful view of the north side of the Grand Canyon. We bought some pottery on a Navajo Indian reservation. On the final night drive, I almost hit a deer on a back road! But, we made it safely home......without any throwing up! (We gave Ben Dramamine to help with car motion sickness. And it worked!)
We are now home. I am catching up on my homework. We have just about caught up on laundry. Wrigley is thriving in his puppy training classes. We traded in our 130,000 mile/cracked sun roof Buick SUV for a gas friendly Dodge Journey. Dan had a birthday and turned 28! I have a few upcoming Dr's appts. (I will update when I have any news.)We are still waiting for a school date or PCS orders for Dan from the Army. We have started to put pictures on our walls. And finally decorate our new home. We are also making healthy changes to improve our bodies.
In the mean time we are enjoying life. We have been reflecting on our faith in jesus christ. And we know that the knowledge we have of eternal families, helps us to know that we will see Dennis, Papa Jr, Grandma Bishop, Nana, and all our family again one day. Losing a loved one so quickly has helped our faith grow stronger. Our rough times humble us and remind us how blessed we are. We are so grateful for friends and family who love us so much.
- A big kuddos if you read this whole thing! - Pictures to come soon. -
Comments
Jody
Camille
Hey just a heads up. Heather's baby shower is on Thursday, May 6th at Bethany's house from 7-9. So hopefully you can make it! I miss seeing your cute smiling face!